A letter from the Deputy Editor April 2025

I hope you all had a great Easter. The Easter bunny was quite generous in terms of eggs and other goodies, but I was slightly non-plussed by one journalist colleague who is normally very generous, but this year seems to have embraced the technology he writes about, a little too much.

Normally a suitably boxed and wrapped chocolate egg arrives. It contains mini eggs or very nice chocolates. So, my anticipation of something delicious was completely destroyed when on Easter day an email arrived with my virtual egg generated by AI along with a message talking about technical advancement.

The egg looked great when it burst opened cascading dozens of mini eggs but it’s somewhat of a let-down when one can’t eat them. Virtual eggs don’t exactly float my boat!

It’s already been a busy year with lots of events and activities. On Easter Monday the Master and Beverley visited the London Harness Horse Parade Society’s annual event at the South of England Showground in West Sussex, where the day included an inspection of a magnificent line-up of exhibits.

The Master presided over a successful Automotive Dinner at Grocers’ Hall on 20th March, which saw John McLaren, one of two keynote speakers, tell an enthralled audience that the move to autonomous vehicles will be even more momentous than the current move to electric vehicles. John, the Chairman of Eagle E-Types, said that ownership of cars in cities will fall, but that interest in motor sport and classic cars will grow. This will no doubt please members of our newly formed car club.

Our other keynote speaker, Liveryman Michael Quinn, gave an interesting insight into the life of his grandfather Sir William Lyons, founder of Jaguar Cars. Michael spoke about his work with the Sir William Lyons Charitable Trust and its work with the Coachmakers’ Company through our Motor Centenary Award.

A highlight of the Livery year is the annual event to meet the Masters, Prime Wardens and Upper Bailiffs at Mansion House on Thursday 27th March. This was followed the next day by the United Guilds’ Service and lunch at Tallow Chandlers’ Hall where the Master was a principal guest along with 13 Coachmakers.

On 16th April a group of 11 Coachmakers and aviation enthusiasts visited the Army Flying Museum and had a fascinating tour of MOD Boscombe Down.

There are lots of visits planned and as you delve into this edition of Coachlines it will give you more insight into the groups that can be joined, the visits that have been planned, and what this Livery does from a charitable perspective. Between now and July there are eight exciting visits planned which you can take part in. There is lots going on so sign up and book a place before it is too late.

Our flagship Banquet on 9th June will celebrate the jet engine, and the life and work of its inventor Sir Frank Whittle. His son, Ian Whittle will be attending and speaking about his father’s work and dispelling several myths, including that the RAF did not support his work – which simply is not true. The Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Richard Knighton has also kindly re-arranged his diary to accept our invitation. Guests will hear about jet engines being used in the air, on water and on the ground, from the first jet aircraft, to HMS Boxer which had four jet engines fitted, to Donald Campbell’s record-breaking jet hydroplane k7. The Master Coachmaker Stephen Fitz-Gerald was responsible for installing the computer aided command system (CACS) on HMS Boxer while working for Plessey radar.

The event has already received outstanding pledges of sponsorship, and many Liverymen and sponsors have booked tables. If you do wish to attend, please go online and book places as space is limited to 250 guests. The Master and Trustees would be grateful for donations to the silent auction and raffle on the night, which can be prizes or experiences.

For my part there is much going on. My PR, media and marketing role for Bluebird K7 continues to develop and we now have an engineering partner, Babcock International, which will help us put the famous hydroplane back onto Coniston Water thanks to the Master and his contacts at this firm.

Bluebird K7 will feature at our Banquet, and I have been working with the Master and my contacts in the City on more exciting plans which will feature Donald Campbell’s boat and this Company. More about this later.

Like you all, I look forward to a great summer and the opportunity to meet more of you at our events.

Freeman David Barzilay, Deputy Editor